On August 6, 2020, the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) announced that it will require all nursing facility staff to be tested once again starting in mid-August through early September. On August 7, 2020, ISDH released a LTC Newsletter containing additional details on this second state testing effort, which can be found in full here. ISDH also shared a FAQ document and step-by-step instructions on ZOTEC facility access system on August 17, 2020.
As a reminder, the current schedule for nursing facility testing can be found here, although it is subject to change, and important details of this testing effort are as follows:
- COVID-19 tests will begin to be dropped off at nursing facilities starting on August 12, 2020, running through September 10, 2020. Thirty (30) teams of two (2) state employees per team will be dispatched to each nursing facility over this time period to facilitate the dropping off and picking up of tests.
- When onsite, the state teams will print out labels and drop-off kits on the same day. For larger facilities, the state teams will be present for two (2) days.
- Pick-up of test kits will be two (2) days after drop off. Specific times will be provided to the facility.
- All nursing facility staff and contractors are expected to be tested during this timeframe, unless the staff member or contractor already received a test in August or September, the staff member or contractor refuses, or they previously tested positive for COVID-19. Specimens will be obtained from anterior nares.
- Nursing facilities will be contacted by Probari approximately one (1) week in advance of the facility’s scheduled date for test kit drop-off. The pick-up time will also be confirmed at that time. While every effort is being made to facilitate drop-offs and pick-ups on weekdays, there will be a few Saturday pick-up dates scheduled.
- Pre-registration of nursing facility staff and contractors will be required utilizing ZOTEC Lab software. ISDH/Probari will email Staff Registration Templates to nursing facilities to complete, and nursing facilities will submit their completed templates to Probari via the same email. Nursing facilities should only complete registrations for staff/contractors that will be tested via the ISDH testing kits. ZOTEC will then create preliminary profiles for each staff member/contractor and contact them to complete the remainder of their profile. Each nursing facility will have access to the registration list to track completion.
- Staff members and contractors who are not able to be tested on a nursing facility’s scheduled date will be required to receive a test at an external testing site, such as OptumServe. For a list of testing sites around the state, please click here.
- Test results will be returned within three (3) to five (5) days, and the ISDH LTC COVID App used for the June testing effort will be utilized once again to report results. ZOTEC will submit new reports to the ISDH LTC COVID App daily for nursing facility review, and Probari will also report all new positives to nursing facilities directly. Nursing facilities will use the ISDH LTC COVID App to report exemptions as well.
- Staff members and contractors who test positive for COVID-19 should adhere to the CDC’s Return to Work Criteria, a summary of which can be found here.
Questions may be submitted to the Probari Outreach Team via outreach@probarisystems.com or 317-804-4102. We also encourage you to participate in the next ISDH Webinar on August 13, 2020, at 12 PM EDT, as this second state testing effort will be discussed at that time.